712: News From the Steward

News From the Steward

2"I see. In that case, what's the earliest auction they can be put in?" she asked. 

The appraiser thought carefully, looking over his notes alongside the schedules for the next coming days. 

"With the sheer number of items, you could split them into different auctions or we can set up an auction solely for everything. With the former, we can put everything into multiple auctions today. As for the latter, we'll need at least three days to set everything up and the auction would be held on the fourth day. Now then would you still like the earliest auctions possible?" he asked. 

Ming Yue nodded. 

"Yes, please."

"Alright then, in that case, everything will be settled soon. Someone will come over with information on the auctions and what items will be where."

He then took out a small bell and rang it, summoning several people and quietly giving out orders. Pointing at what items should be taken and what shouldn't be taken, the table had just a few things left. 

None of them seemed very special, most likely ordinary pieces of armor or plants that could be found easily. 

Watching them take everything away, the appraiser scratched his chin. 

"I was quite surprised to see a few items here. You have quite a bit from the Demon Continent as well as a few items from the Beast Continent. I wasn't expecting to see that", he said, "As far as I know, merchants have to spend a hefty amount to obtain things from those places. They can only be accessed through the teleportation arrays at the end of the continent so whatever comes from out is worth quite a lot."

"Really? Then, could you give me an estimate on how much I can get for everything?" Ming Yue asked him. 

"Hrm, if I had to make a good estimation, I'd say.... at least three million gold and at most, ten million", he answered, glancing at the treasures being transported away. 

"Three million to ten million gold."

Given this answer, Ming Yue felt somewhat reassured that obtaining the Dragon Eye Berries would be possible but as the appraiser was still here, she asked him one more question.

"Are you familiar with Dragon Eye Berries and do you know how much they have been auctioned for?" 

The appraiser raised a brow, somewhat surprised to hear this. 

"Dragon Eye Berries are quite rare. Born from the body of a dragon's body, they can bestow immense power to even mere mortals. It's a wondrous item that can be counted among the top treasures. However, they don't appear very often on these floors. The last one was probably almost two years ago. And that was sold for nearly thirty million gold", he told her. 

"Thirty million!?" 

"Yes, to a noble clan, I believe. Their genius descendant had been crippled due to some unfortunate circumstances and so they used their resources to obtain such a heaven-defying treasure."

"That's quite a lot of money."

"Indeed, it was but there are treasures out there that are worth any amount of money. And to that crippled genius, thirty million was a small price to pay,"

"Right, right. Well then, thank you for helping me."

She turned to leave but stopped at the door as the appraiser had something else to say. 

"You know as a Gold Member, you are welcome to borrow from the Chamber if you'd like. Furthermore, we don't just accept physical items but selling a service or a favor is also allowed. As for the price, that can be negotiated with one of the administrators", he said. 

A light flashed in her eyes before she nodded. 

"Thank you for the information." 

He smiled back and bowed as she left. And then, he turned towards one of the men, whispering in his ear. 

"Let them know. See if we can dig up any information on it."

The worker nodded, going off on his own assignment. 

As for Ming Yue, she thought about her next course of action. 

"How am I going to do this? It's been a few years since those berries were on auction. Let alone the money, would another appear again?" she wondered. 

Walking through the crowded floor, she left the Chamber of Gold the moment she received the documents for all the auctions her items were being sent to. She didn't stay back to look around as she had a lot on her mind. 

"Should I not have come here? Would it have been better to search for it myself? Maybe I could've looked for the Dragon Emperor, perhaps he could help but the problem is finding him."

She started rubbing the side of her head, feeling a headache coming on.

"Damn it, should I just hope for the best and wait it out? I have at most a few months though. The auctions might just be the best bet", she thought. 

Unfortunately, Ming Yue was starting to regret coming here but with no leads on the Dragon Eye Berries, she didn't have much choice. As the sun was setting, her first day in the city came to an end. 

"Ah, I'll just wait and see how things develop. Maybe until everything is sold which should be done by tomorrow."

Putting her attention onto other matters, she went to explore the city, visiting a few spots that Steward Qu recommended. 

While the Golden Treasure Kingdom didn't have any cuisine unique to itself, there was a vast number of food for her to pick from. There were flavors she was quite familiar with and ones that she'd never tasted before. 

It made for quite an enlightening experience though, she didn't buy too much.

"Might as well try to hold back a bit for the Dragon Eye Berries."

At the end of the night, Ming Yue came back to the Sunlight Palace, turning in for the night. She spent a few minutes gazing at the moon from the windows before looking down at the cityscape. With the nightlife coming out, the city was brimming with light as crowds of people wandered through the markets. 

"Beautiful."

She admired the scene before heading to bed. 

The next few days were relatively quiet, the Steward had yet to visit her and the auctions concluded one by one as the total earnings grew and grew. Once everything was finished, Ming Yue went to the Chamber of Gold, receiving her money in the form of six platinum tokens. 

"Each of those tokens is equal to a million gold. You are welcome to keep it like that or exchange it for gold. This bag here is leftover from the conversion, nearly 6.4 million gold in total."

As the receptionist handed her the money, the young cultivator thanked her before going on her way. 

"Now that I have money, what's next? Should I leave the kingdom or wait?" she wondered. 

Heading out of the Chamber, she noticed the steward waiting outside for her. The moment he saw her, he quickly approached her, lowering his head once he came to her. 

"Steward Qu? Have you found any information on the Dragon Eye Berries?" she asked. 

Raising his head he nodded, though his expression wasn't very good. 

"Yes, I did but it may be difficult to obtain it."

Ming Yue furrowed her brow as she looked at him. 

"What do you mean? Is it going to be sold in an auction?"

The steward produced a piece of paper from his sleeves and handed it to her before explaining its contents. 

"It will be in an auction but it will be part of a special auction, one where money means little to nothing here. It will be held in the private halls of the Chamber of Gold and the seller will be hosting it. I'm not sure what they're looking to sell it for but... it will certainly not be for a small price."

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